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Posts Tagged ‘New Hope New Courage’
How About Crazy Hope
By: Jock Ficken
Leaders need hope to lead and venture forward and navigate change…hope to enter into new mission territory. No hope? No action! And the bad news is that harsh realities crush hope! I think it’s one of the reasons that leaders consistently are impacted by any of the PLI learning communities because they experience… New Hope that leads to … Continue reading
Don’t Face Goliath in Saul’s Armor
By: Jock Ficken
Too many leaders are like David trying to face Goliath in King Saul’s armor. Nearly 20 years ago Peter Drucker claimed that “successful careers are not planned. They develop when people are prepared for opportunities because they know their strengths, their method of work, and their values” (Harvard Business Review, March-April 1999, “Managing Oneself”). Drucker … Continue reading
3 Critical Steps to your Best Leadership Future
By: Jock Ficken
As a leader, what if the next 10 years were your best 10 years? No matter your age and stage! The workplace is full of people that have decided that they are too old to make a shift. – William Bridges in Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes You’ve seen a lot about 1000 Young … Continue reading
Advancing the Dream…4 Things to Remember
By: Jock Ficken
Dreaming new dreams in the ministry of a congregation is the first thing to disappear when a congregation starts to decline and the first thing to reappear when it leans toward a new future or a new season. (Lots of churches trying to “survive” would benefit greatly if they simply started to dream again!) Dreaming is a big thing! … Continue reading
Making Courageous Choices
By: Jock Ficken
Most congregations fail to appreciate the impact that their current decisions (or the lack thereof) will have on future ministry. Many of the churches helplessly skidding down the decline side of the curve chose not to take on their greatest challenge some years earlier. (Read last week’s post, Rebirth and Renewal.) Some of these congregations … Continue reading
Rebirth and Renewal
By: Jock Ficken
Congregations have life cycles, just like people. Birth Growth Decline Death …or… Renewal or Rebirth No secrets here… most congregations are on the decline side of the curve. Few have imagined how many churches will die in the next decade. So, let me speak to what I hope is a growing group of courageous champions. … Continue reading
The Many Destinations of Christmas
By: Jock Ficken
So, here’s the over dinner joke I heard last week. A woman steps up to the ticket counter at the airport checking 3 pieces of luggage. And she explains, “I’d like the blue one to be sent to Omaha. The red one to Chicago. The yellow one to Buffalo.” The very gracious airline customer representative … Continue reading
Crazy Hope
By: Jock Ficken
Leaders need hope to lead and congregations need hope to venture forward and navigate change…hope to enter into new mission territory. No hope? No action! And the bad news is that harsh realities crush hope! I think it’s one of the reasons that leaders consistently are impacted by any of the PLI learning communities because … Continue reading
So You Think Your Church is Failing…What Can You Do?
By: Jock Ficken
80% of U.S. churches… Worship less than 100. Face steady to rapid decline. Possess collective memories of being 2 times or 10 times larger. Leaders and members are taunted with the whisper that they’re failing. Usually today’s realities were set in motion years earlier by… A stubborn refusal or inability to make necessary changes for … Continue reading
They Call it the Silent Exodus
By: Jock Ficken
Some interesting facts: 70% of 1st generation Korean immigrants are churched. 95% of 2nd generation Koreans are unchurched by the time they enter college, making them one of the most unreached people groups in American cities. They call it the Silent Exodus. Gone. Immigrant churches are torn between tradition and language and practice from the … Continue reading